full article here

SPECIAL MARKETING SECTION
Employee service trip to Kenya
US Synthetic is more than a large employer in
Utah Valley. It is a well-respected company that
makes an effort to give back.
US Synthetic
Rock Canyon Park clean up
1260 S. 1600 West, Orem | (801) 235-9001 | www.ussynthetic.com
Valuing human life is a strong
foundation in business and in life. US
Synthetic, a father-son global enterprise, is based on this culture where employees thrive on learning and experience and use
it to bless others around the globe. In 1978, Bill Pope, a former BYU chemical
engineering professor, and his son Louis founded the Orem-based company. US
Synthetic is known for manufacturing PCDs
(polycrystalline diamond cutters) for oil
and gas exploration. But really, the business
stretches into much more.
“We’ve taken 25 employees to Kenya over
the years as part of our Asante Foundation.
It means ‘thank you’ in Swahili,” says Troy
Holmberg, US Synthetic’s director of corporate social responsibility.
Louis started the charity in 1998 to create
jobs and livelihoods for Kenyan families. His
company even established a micro-credit
union to give loans to more than 26,000
twitter.com/UVBusinessQ
women who are starting enterprises.
Globally, US Synthetic is dominating in its
technology and in its sphere of humanitarian
outreach. Locally, it’s doing as much, if not
more, especially for kids.
“Last year, our employees have put in more
than 4,200 hours of community service and
donated tens of thousands of dollars locally.
Employees raised $20,000 for the local food
bank with a match from US Synthetic and
the company donated thousands of dollars
in scholarships and giving locally to support
STEM (science, technology, engineering,
math) education in our schools to improve
lives in our community,” Troy says.
Students in the valley know the US Synthetic name. Budding engineers have made
spaghetti towers inside the US Synthetic
facility and explored robotics, diamonds and
chemistry experiments at UCCU’s Family
Festival at UVU last November.
Investing in others is the keystone of US
Synthetic, which extends to the way the company treats its employees.
“We provide an on-site health clinic to meet
the needs of our employees’ families. Shift
workers eat at our subsidized café. We believe
in empowering our employees,” Troy says.
longevity TIPS
• Invest in your employees and empower them to improve the organization.
• Understand intimately the value you add to your customers. It will be different for each one.
• Create a culture of continuous improvement, excellence and innovation.
• Surround yourself with people smarter than yourself.
www.utahvalleybusinessq.com / SPRING 2013
51
longevity PROFILES
US Synthetic pays half of
the costs for employees
interested in serving in Kenya.
Troy Holmberg, director of
corporate social responsibility,
has been to Africa 26 times
and has helped the Foundation create 26,000 jobs.